World of Sociology on Richard Marc Emerson

Richard M. Emerson influenced the study of social structure by introducing the theory of social exchange which broke new ground in three areas. First, Emerson's paradigm focused on the interaction and relationship between individuals rather than their individual actions. In so doing, he circumvented the limitations of behaviorism and utilitarianism, thus allowing a fuller perspective of social structure. Second, social exchange theory emphasizes resource availability, power, and dependence as primary dynamics within a relationship. Doing so allows the researcher to ask the question, "why," about relationships rather than merely "what kind." Third, by creating a theory that focused on the interplay between two interacting parties, Emerson provided a means to address social structure at both the micro and macro levels. If relationships, not actors, are key, then the theory can be equally applied to person-person, person-group, and group-group relations.

Emerson first outlined his original concept of social relationships...